The Science of Oil Slosh & What is going on in your oil pan.

A lot of what happens in a motor is difficult to see. When a motor is running everything on the bottom end is closed up and hidden from view. This makes issues really difficult to pinpoint. In these cases guess and check can sometimes feel like the only way to figure out your problem. However, sometimes there are theories in play that can help solve issues.......

Science of oil slosh.

Viscosity

We often use what we call the sauce pan analogy. In order to make it easier to imagine what is going on in your oil pan we suggest imagining there is a saucepan filled with water next to you while your driving.

So, back to the sauce pan. Imagine that sauce pan filled with water next to you while you are launching down the strip or diving into a turn. What is happening to the water in the pan? I am betting it is going for a pretty wild ride and you are getting wet.

Knowing that the oil in the pan is going to be exposed to 1 g vertically and assuming an average of 1 g for lateral acceleration it is easy to calculate that the combined force will be pushing your oil at a 45 degree angle.

What Does This Mean?

The above points should give you a good idea as to the wild ride the oil in your pan is on while you are racing your car. It is no wonder that if not using a performance oil pan racers will find themselves with all sorts of oiling problems. Performance oil pans look to address these challenges with baffling systems, windage trays, and sump configurations.